The minute you see that everything is going one way, you get the hell out.
— Jonathan Anderson
I grew up during one of Northern Ireland's most complex periods.
I would say I work very emotionally: I have a very compulsive way of working, where I love something to the moment I am sick of it. I have no addiction outside of work, so my addiction is that process.
I didn't reinvent clothing; I reinvented the edit.
The problem with me and TV shows is once I start watching them, I have to watch them all because I'm so impatient. I need the entire series to be on TV, and then I'll sit all day and watch the entire thing. So I did that with 'Homeland,' and I did that with 'Veep.'
I collect primarily ceramics but also black-and-white photography and some bits of contemporary.
I always love to look at something that I couldn't make, because I feel it's enlightening. It means you are not invincible: you can respect something and look up to it and go, 'Wow!' It's a skill that I don't have, but I can understand the merit of it.
Whether I'm at home in London or in Paris for Loewe, I always like to walk to work.
I think I've always had an obsession with collecting, as most people do.
I've been a fan and collector of Lucie Rie for years.
Part of the reason Loewe has diversified into so many other categories is because what we can't do any more is simply say, 'Here's more stuff you can buy.'
In London, what I do on the weekend is be a person and have my own life. In Paris, it is going from this hotel to the office and back again. But I love it.
Doing something with Uniqlo means you come up with a wardrobe which is universal and quirky.
I wasn't very good at school and appalling at English.
Wood carving is such an amazing skill and very underrated; once you cut it, it's hard to go back.
I love jeans, T-shirts, and things you can jazz up and down, a bit of a mish-mash.
The team I have to work with at Loewe is incredible, from the architect to the archivist.
My parents were extremely liberal. They didn't believe in being Catholic or Protestant, and that was a big deal at the time.
I feel like if you have balance in life, you have to be consumed by your job because, ultimately, it will never be a job; it will never be something that you feel you're working on.
Fashion is an archetype: you're trying to build a silhouette, and that is very similar to building up a building because you're trying to create a new structure, a new proportion, a new shape, and you're using a material to cut which is a bit mathematical. That idea of finding something new in terms of proportion is something that drives me.
I love the immediacy of Instagram. My feed really is my train of thought. If I'm really excited about something, I'll just put it up.
I think ceramics are so amazing because they're incredibly educational - you can buy something made in the 14th century, and it looks like it was made yesterday. There's something to be learned there, and ceramics can tell you the history of the time because they're functional vessels, ultimately.
Buttons, for me, are very sculptural things, and they are so fascinating.
I think I am obsessed with Lucie Rie. I love the way she collaborated with Miyake, who for me is probably the most important fashion designer of the 20th century.
I'm not the best at getting myself breakfast, but if I do, I'll normally have toast and marmalade.
My grandfather, who's still alive, has always been involved in art, antiques, and things like that. I think I learned so much from him.
I'm Irish, working for a Spanish brand, owned by a French company.
We need to articulate luxury differently. We live in the world of the 'like' culture. As a society, we're consuming so much imagery, it's like gorging on sugar, and the only way to find depth in a 'like' culture is by presenting the unknown.
Ultimately, I think to be successful in fashion, you have to turn into the most incredible HR person. It's about politics. I'm massaging egos and keeping everyone happy.
I've always been massively aware of clothing.
I just don't ever want it to be nice. I'd prefer someone had a violent reaction to my collection than ever call it 'nice.'
For me, the creative process is this giant patchwork of information.
Real life is difficult - some people find that hard to process.
For me, doing an interview with someone is like having therapy.
I find it very difficult to see the boundary between womenswear and menswear. It's bizarre the ways in which society reacts; they find it difficult to comprehend seeing parts of the body on a man. I think it's fascinating.
Work is an addiction. I've always done too much. It's in my nature.
To restart a brand, you have to make people forget what it was.
If you're going to collect things because you think they have value, then don't collect. For me, you have to be obsessed, and there has to be something educational.
I have a huge amount of respect for all Japanese designers because I think there is consistency and respect to craft.
I could binge-eat cheese - I love any blue cheese. Make it strong; make it deadly.
The first thing I do in the morning is have an espresso - straight up - and read the papers. I like 'The Independent,' 'The Times,' and the 'Financial Times.'
You always need a textural landscape. I think that's what fashion is about, and I think when you come to a brand and you're trying to re-instill its history, the history only comes through being personal.
As a child growing up in Ireland, you would have to go to Dublin if you wanted to go to the luxury brands. And I remember my mother being too uncomfortable to go into some of those stores. I want to get rid of the barrier.
I'm really into very 'naive craft,' like Second World War playing cards.
We have this perceived illusion of what the fashion designer does. As an industry, we make it out that this one individual changes the entire face of the earth. I have never said 'me'; it's always 'we.' I am just the big salesman.
I'm completely dyslexic - it's the writing part. People read what I've written, and they have no idea what I'm trying to say.
I read up a lot about ceramics and collect them, but when you make something, it's very difficult to like it. I quite like appreciating and supporting what someone else does.
Everywhere I go, I buy something. I probably have an issue with shopping.
Loewe should be a cultural brand.
